Project CLaB
Child Language Brokering – perspectives of teachers and learners on a translingual everyday practice
This interdisciplinary research project investigates systematically Child Language Brokering (CLB) – informal translation practices by multilingual students – in German-speaking schools. Three sub-studies explore children’s and teachers’ perspectives on CLB, its interactional patterns, and its educational potential. The aim is to collaboratively develop approaches to translingual didactics and make them applicable to everyday school practice.
Multilingualism is part of everyday life for many children and adolescents with a migration background – including in school. However, it is often seen not as a resource, but as a challenge. In day-to-day school life, students develop various informal strategies to support each other across language barriers. One such strategy is Child Language Brokering (CLB): multilingual students spontaneously and informally translate for peers with limited German skills – for example, when explaining assignments, communicating with teachers, or in everyday conversations. Despite its importance, CLB has hardly been researched in German-speaking contexts.
This is where our project comes in: working closely with children and teachers, we investigate when and how CLB occurs, how it is perceived by those involved, and what potential it holds for collaborative learning. In three sub-studies, we explore CLB from educational, linguistic, and professional perspectives. Our goal is to develop a deeper understanding of this practice and derive ideas for a translingual didactic approach – one that sees multilingualism as a valuable resource. In the long term, the project aims to create practical training concepts that support schools in dealing with linguistic diversity.
Selected publications
- David-Erb, M. (2024). Sprache und Raum in non-formalen Bildungssettings: Perspektiven junger Geflüchteter auf ihre mehrsprachigen Lebenswelten. In C. Röhner, J. Schwittek & A. Potsi (Hrsg.), Transmigration und Place-making (S. 293–310). Barbara Budrich.
- Geyer, S. & Schastak, M.(eingereicht). Sprachvergleiche – Eine geeignete Methode im Grammatikunterricht in der Grundschule? Empirische Erkenntnisse zu den Überzeugungen und Praktiken von Lehrkräften. Zeitschrift für Grundschulforschung.
- Schastak, M., David-Erb, M. & Geyer, S (eingereicht). „…and that makes multilingualism almost difficult.” A mixed methods study on the attitudes and practices of teachers and parents regarding multilingualism in different contexts.
Cooperations
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